Blount County Education Foundation grant winners named

Last Thursday, the Blount County Education Foundation (BCEF) “prize patrol” made its way to all Blount County schools to award classroom grants for 126 projects representing 157 teachers within the system.

BCEF executive director Mitchie Neel said, “The BCEF is absolutely thrilled to be able to award this many classroom grants. The 157 teachers who will receive these grants is the largest number in our history and is possible only because of the tremendous support of the contributors to our foundation. We are grateful to all who gave to the foundation and helped make this great day possible, and we congratulate all the winners. Our students will benefit greatly from the placement of the resources these grants make possible.”

The classroom grants are in addition to the announcement of other projects that will be implemented over the next year.

Projects such as the Summer Learning Program, the Virtual Learning Project, Supporting At-Risk/Struggling Learning with Intervention and Resources, and the Reading and Math Intervention Project are just a few of the grants awarded because of such a generous community.

Hali Burton, a Hayden Elementary ELA teacher, is excited to be part of the joint effort awarded a collaborative grant titled “OH, Say Can You Hear?” for the Hayden fourth grade teachers.

Burton said, “We are truly grateful for the ability to purchase the Redcat Audio Sound System for each of our classrooms. This means we will be able to provide our students with a productive learning environment each day by presenting them with clear, audible classroom instruction that everyone can hear.

“Our goal is for students to grow academically, and this system has been proven to increase students’ qualitative behavior related to attentiveness, listening skills, and comprehension. Overall, we are thrilled to be able to provide students with the type of learning environments Blount County strives for.”

The Hayden group, consisting of grant recipient Lisa Hargett, along with collaborative members Burton, Lora Prince, Mallory Nix, and Natalie Burton submitted one of this year’s highest scoring collaborative grants, according to Neel.

The BCEF, which is celebrating 19 years of boosting children’s success in Blount County schools, has provided more than $3 million through its projects to support Blount County students and teachers.